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STEVE McQUEEN REVIEWS THE HOTTEST NEW GT’s | 1966 SPORTS ILLUSTRATED

The year was 1966, and Steve McQueen was on top of the world. He was the reigning “King of Cool” who had the rest of Hollywood’s leading men eating his dust. McQueen’s “hard knocks” path gave him an attitude and a lust for life that was flat-out unapologetic. So back In 1966, when Sports Illustrated wanted a Hollywood headliner to review the top new GT’s– Steve McQueen was the clear choice. Make that the only choice. Not Newman, or Garner, or… you get it.

Wonderful article!
I never cared for white-wall tires (or is that “tyres”?) on high performance cars, but then the 60’s were kinda ‘anything goes’.
That Corvette has appreciated at about 100x, and I wouldn’t even guess at the Ferrari.

James Coburn said “4 godS sake the guy could bareLY read or write” steve mCqueen achiEved a lot considering his troubled childHOOD. he had a feud A rivalry w/ P. newman over towering inferno, # of lines billing & such. Coburn was one of his pale bearers & his friend. never 4GET like cary GRANT it’s what U make urSELF that counts. His son said HE smoked weed right in front of him BUT hid his PLAYboys. He was a human being & he focused the LITE that bounced OFF of HIM. he was universally reKNOWN as a charming beautiful person. It’s fun 2 see the BACKwards impressions HE left this WORLD. a huge REpublican, he helped NIXON but was on ENEMIES list.. ask ALI mCgraw

James Coburn in those times was driving a 250 Ferrari California, kinda like mine. I remember pulling up behind a “427” (actually, probably a 428, as they reserved the precious sideoilers for track) Cobra in my Ferrari at a stoplight on University Ave in Palo Alto and thinking, “Now THAT’S a cool car!!” Which I did not often think, driving my Ferrari. But I bought that Ferrari only after I tried to buy a street-legal T-70 Lola that never, unfortunately, was produced. (James Garner bought all three cars from the tuner, and raced them instead.) In McQueen’s story, you have Ferrari, Lola T-70, and Cobra. So you could say he brought it al back home…. at least for me.